Hermetic compressor

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a hermetic compressor capable of reducing the number of parts and increasing working efficiency in the assembling process. The hermetic compressor includes a cylinder block having a compression chamber, and an assembly having a main body that includes an intake hole through which a refrigerant is drawn into the compression chamber and an exhaust hole through which the refrigerant is exhausted from the compression chamber and is coupled to one side of the cylinder block, and a cover that is coupled with the main body and includes a first resonant chamber communicating with the intake hole and a second resonant chamber communicating with the exhaust hole.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No.2006-42120, filed on May 10, 2006, in the Korean Intellectual PropertyOffice, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to a hermetic compressor, andmore particularly to a hermetic compressor in which an intake mufflerand an exhaust muffler are integrally formed with a cylinder head.

2. Description of the Prior Art

A hermetic compressor forms a part of refrigerating cycle used in arefrigerator, an air conditioner, or the like. This hermetic compressorincludes a closed casing forming an external appearance, a compressingunit compressing a refrigerant in the closed casing, and a driving unitproviding the compressing unit with driving force.

Among them, the compressing unit includes a cylinder block that forms acompression chamber, a piston that compresses the refrigerant whilereciprocating in the compression chamber, a cylinder head that iscoupled to one side of the cylinder block to hermetically close thecompression chamber and has an intake chamber and an exhaust chamberpartitioned each other, and a valve unit that is interposed between thecylinder block and the cylinder head and regulates a flow of therefrigerant that is drawn from the intake chamber into the compressionchamber or is exhausted from the compression chamber to the exhaustchamber.

Under this configuration, when the driving unit is driven, the pistonreciprocates in the compression chamber. Thereby, the refrigerant isintroduced into the intake chamber of the cylinder head from the outsideof the closed casing through an intake pipe, is fed to the compressionchamber, and is compressed in the compression chamber. The refrigerantcompressed in the compression chamber is exhausted to the exhaustchamber of the cylinder head, and then the outside of the closed casingthrough an exhaust pipe.

The refrigerant that is drawn into and exhausted from the compressionchamber causes vibration and noise due to pulsation cased byintermittent intake and exhaust operation thereof. In order to reducethese vibration and noise, the cylinder head is coupled with an intakemuffler communicating with the intake chamber as well as an exhaustmuffler communicating with the exhaust chamber.

However, in the conventional hermetic compressor, the intake muffler andthe exhaust muffler are fabricated independently of the cylinder head,and communicate with the intake chamber and the exhaust chamber throughconnecting pipes, respectively.

In this manner, because the intake muffler and the exhaust muffler arefabricated independently of the cylinder head, the separate parts suchas connecting pipes are required, so that they requires a lot of workingprocedures for fabrication.

Further, the intake muffler and the exhaust muffler are assembled withthe cylinder head by means of a lot of assembling procedures, and thusworking efficiency is reduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solveabove-mentioned problems occurring in the prior art, and an object ofthe present invention is to provide a hermetic compressor, in whichintake and exhaust mufflers are integrally fabricated with a cylinderhead, thereby reducing the number of parts, increasing the workingefficiency in the assembling process, and ultimately saving the cost ofproduction.

In order to accomplish this object, according to an aspect of thepresent invention, there is provided a hermetic compressor, whichincludes a cylinder block having a compression chamber, and an assemblyhaving a main body that includes an intake hole through which arefrigerant is drawn into the compression chamber and an exhaust holethrough which the refrigerant is exhausted from the compression chamberand is coupled to one side of the cylinder block, and a cover that iscoupled with the main body and includes a first resonant chambercommunicating with the intake hole and a second resonant chambercommunicating with the exhaust hole.

Here, the main body may further include a flat part having the intakeand exhaust holes, a first recess recessed from the flat part at apredetermined depth and forming part of the first resonant chamber, anda second recess recessed from the flat part at a predetermined depth andforming part of the second resonant chamber. The cover may include athird recess having an intake chamber communicating the intake hole andforming the first resonant chamber together with the first recess, and afourth recess having an exhaust chamber communicating the exhaust holeand forming the second resonant chamber together with the second recess.

Further, the cover may further include a first connecting channelconnecting the intake chamber with the first resonant chamber, and asecond connecting channel connecting the exhaust chamber with the secondresonant chamber.

Furthermore, the cover may further include a partition that partitionsbetween the intake chamber and exhaust chamber and between the thirdrecess and the fourth recess.

Further, the first and second resonant chambers may be disposed on thesame side in relation to the axis of the compression chamber.

In addition, the main body and the cover may be coupled to each other bybrazing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will be more apparent from the following detailed descriptiontaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view illustrating a hermetic compressor accordingto an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the hermeticcompressor of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view illustrating the cover of the assemblyof FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will bedescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, a hermetic compressor according to oneembodiment of the present invention includes a closed casing 1 formed bythe connection of upper and lower casings 1 a and 1 b, a compressingunit 10 compressing a refrigerant in the closed casing, and a drivingunit 20 providing the compressing unit with driving force. The closedcasing 1 is provided, at one side thereof, with an intake pipe 2 guidingthe refrigerant to the inside thereof, and an exhaust pipe 3 dischargingthe refrigerant compressed by the compressing unit 10 to the outsidethereof.

Among them, the compressing unit 10 includes a cylinder block 11 that isintegrally formed with a frame 15 to thereby form a compression chamber11 a compressing the refrigerant, a piston 12 that reciprocates in thecompression chamber 11 a to compress the refrigerant, a cylinder headassembly 13 that is coupled to one side of the cylinder block 11 tohermetically close the compression chamber 11 a and has an intakechamber 13 a and an exhaust chamber 13 b partitioned each other, and avalve unit 30 that is interposed between the cylinder block 11 and thecylinder head assembly 13 and regulates a flow of the refrigerant thatis drawn from the intake chamber 13 a into the compression chamber 11 aor is exhausted from the compression chamber 11 a to the exhaust chamber13 b.

The driving unit 20 functions to provide a driving force to allow thepiston 12 to reciprocate in the compression chamber 11 a. The drivingunit 20 includes a stator 21 fixed in the closed casing 1, and a rotor22 fitted in the stator 21 at an interval so as to interactelectro-magnetically with the stator 21. The rotor 22 is provided with arotating shaft 23 at the center thereof, thereby rotating together withthe rotating shaft 23. The rotating shaft 23 is provided, at a lowerportion thereof, with an eccentric portion 24 that is subject toeccentric rotation, and a connecting rod 25 that is rotatably coupled tothe eccentric portion 24 at one end thereof and the piston 12 at theother end thereof so as to convert the eccentric movement into thelinear movement.

When the hermetic compressor is powered, the rotating shaft 23 isrotated by electromagnetic interaction between the stator 21 and therotor 22, and the piston 12 connected with the eccentric portion 24through the connecting rod 25 performs the linear reciprocation in thecompression chamber 11 a. Thereby, the refrigerant of the outside of theclosed casing 1 is introduced into the intake chamber 13 a of thecylinder head assembly 13 through the intake pipe 2, is transferred tothe compression chamber 11 a, and is compressed in the compressionchamber 11 a. The refrigerator compressed in the compression chamber 11a is exhausted to the exhaust chamber 13 b of the cylinder head assembly13 and then to the outside of the closed casing 1 through the exhaustpipe 3.

Meanwhile, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the valve unit 30 includes anexhaust valve plate 35 that has an intake hole 31 and an exhaust hole(now shown) through which the compression chamber. 11 a of the cylinderblock 11 communicate with the intake and exhaust chambers 13 a and 13 bof the cylinder head assembly 13, an intake valve plate 40 that isassembled to the exhaust valve plate 35 on the side of the cylinderblock 11 and is provided with an intake valve 41 opening/closing theintake hole 31, and a gasket 45 that is installed between the intakevalve plate 40 and the cylinder block 11 to prevent the refrigerant fromleaking.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the exhaust valve plate 35 on the sideof the cylinder head assembly 13 is assembled with an exhaust valveassembly 32, which opens/closes the exhaust hole (not shown).

Each of the gasket 45, the intake valve plate 40, and the exhaust valveplate 35 is provided with bolt holes at an outer circumference thereof.The valve unit 30 is installed between the cylinder block 11 and thecylinder head assembly 13 by means of fixing bolts 48, each of whichpasses through each bolt hole from the outside of the cylinder headassembly 13 to be bolted to the cylinder block 11.

The cylinder head assembly 13 installed on one side of the cylinderblock 11 includes a main body 50 coupled to the cylinder block 11 bymeans of the fixing bolts 48, and a cover 60 coupled to the main body50, for example, by brazing.

The main body 50 includes a flat part 51 having a flat surface, andfirst and second recesses 55 and 56 recessed toward the cylinder block11 from the flat part 51 at a predetermined depth.

The flat part 51 is provided with bolt holes 52 that allow the fixingbolts 48 fixing the cylinder head assembly 13 to the cylinder block 11to pass therethrough, and an exhaust hole 54 that is provided at aposition corresponding to the exhaust valve assembly 32 thatopens/closes an intake hole 53 provided at a position corresponding tothe intake hole 31 of the exhaust valve plate 35 so as to allow therefrigerant to be drawn as well as the exhaust hole (not shown) of theexhaust valve plate 35.

The first recess 55 and the second recess 56 are partitioned by a firstpartition 57. The first recess 55 forms part of a first resonant chamber58 reducing noise of the drawn refrigerant, whereas the second recess 56forms part of a second resonant chamber 59 reducing noise of theexhausted refrigerant.

At this time, the first and second resonant chambers 58 and 59 aredisposed on the same side in relation to the axis of the compressionchamber 11 a. In this manner, because the first and second resonantchambers 58 and 59 are disposed on the same side, the internal space ofthe closed casing 1 can be efficiently used.

The cover 60 coupled to the main body 50 of the cylinder head assembly13 includes an edge 61 that is a part coupled to the main body 50, forexample, by brazing, and third and fourth recesses 62 and 63 that arerecessed opposite to the cylinder block 11 from the edge 61 at apredetermined depth.

The third recess 62 and the fourth recess 63 are partitioned by a secondpartition 64. At this time, the second partition 64 is in surfacecontact with the first partition 57 when the cover 60 is coupled to themain body 50.

A part of the third recess 62 serves as the intake chamber 13 a at aposition corresponding to the intake hole 53 of the main body 50, andthe other part serves as the first resonant chamber 58 at a positioncorresponding to the first recess 55 of the main body 50. The intakechamber 13 a and the first resonant chamber 58 are connected by a firstconnecting channel 67.

A part of the fourth recess 63 serves as the exhaust chamber 13 b at aposition corresponding to the exhaust hole 54 of the main body 50, andthe other part serves as the second resonant chamber 59 at a positioncorresponding to the second recess 56 of the main body 50. The exhaustchamber 13 b and the second resonant chamber 59 are connected by asecond connecting channel 68.

Meanwhile, the third recess 62 is provided with an intake pipeconnecting hole 62 a connected with the intake pipe 2, and the fourthrecess 63 is provided with an exhaust pipe connecting hole 63 aconnected with the exhaust pipe 3.

The operation and effects of the hermetic compressor according to thepresent invention will be described below.

When the hermetic compressor is driven, a refrigerant is drawn into thefirst resonant chamber 58 through the intake pipe 2. The refrigerantdrawn into the first resonant chamber 58 flows into the intake chamber13 a through the first connecting channel 67. The refrigerant flowinginto the intake chamber 13 a is introduced into the compression chamber11 a by the intake valve 41, and is compressed by the piston 12.

The refrigerant compressed in the compression chamber 11 a is exhaustedto the exhaust chamber 13 b by opening/closing the exhaust valveassembly 32. The refrigerant exhausted to the exhaust chamber 13 b flowsto the second resonant chamber 59 through the second connecting channel68. The refrigerant compressed in the compression chamber 11 a isexpanded when flowing to the second resonant chamber 59, so that noiseor vibration caused by pulsation is reduced.

As described above, the intake and exhaust chambers formed in thecylinder head assembly and the resonant chambers formed in the intakeand exhaust mufflers can be simply formed only by one assembly in whichthe main body is assembled with the cover.

As can be seen from the foregoing, the hermetic compressor according tothe present invention forms an assembly in which the intake and exhaustmufflers are integrally fabricated with the cylinder head assembly, sothat the number of parts can be reduced, and the working efficiency isincreased in the assembling process. Ultimately, the cost of productioncan be saved.

Although exemplary embodiments of the present invention have beendescribed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art willappreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions arepossible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the inventionas disclosed in the accompanying claims.

1. A hermetic compressor comprising: a cylinder block having acompression chamber; and an assembly having a main body that includes anintake hole through which a refrigerant is drawn into the compressionchamber and an exhaust hole through which the refrigerant is exhaustedfrom the compression chamber and is coupled to one side of the cylinderblock, and a cover that is coupled with the main body and includes afirst resonant chamber communicating with the intake hole and a secondresonant chamber communicating with the exhaust hole.
 2. The hermeticcompressor as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the main body furtherincludes a flat part having the intake and exhaust holes, a first recessrecessed from the flat part at a predetermined depth and forming part ofthe first resonant chamber, and a second recess recessed from the flatpart at a predetermined depth and forming part of the second resonantchamber; and the cover includes a third recess having an intake chambercommunicating the intake hole and forming the first resonant chambertogether with the first recess, and a fourth recess having an exhaustchamber communicating the exhaust hole and forming the second resonantchamber together with the second recess.
 3. The hermetic compressor asclaimed in claim 2, wherein the cover further includes a firstconnecting channel connecting the intake chamber with the first resonantchamber, and a second connecting channel connecting the exhaust chamberwith the second resonant chamber.
 4. The hermetic compressor as claimedin claim 2, wherein the cover further includes a partition thatpartitions between the intake chamber and exhaust chamber and betweenthe third recess and the fourth recess.
 5. The hermetic compressor asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the first and second resonant chambers aredisposed on the same side in relation to the axis of the compressionchamber.
 6. The hermetic compressor as claimed in claim 1, wherein themain body and the cover are coupled to each other by brazing.